In honour of the imminent release of The Runaways this week, and The Stooges’ recent induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, we thought it would be prudent to have the shop weigh in on the best rock movies of all time; a lot deliver but a whole lot more under-deliver to be sure. Oh where will The Runaways land?!

We did this on St. Patrick’s Day with Guinness and Kilkenny in hand which added to the day for sure.

The YouTube rock fests that occasionally erupted as a result of this particular stream provided a welcome respite from the fiddle and tinflute.

And so, let’s kick out the proverbial jams….!

The Basics: (documentaries galore!)

This Is Spinal Tap

The Song Remains the Same

Quadrophenia – “out of my brain on the train!!!”

“Quadrophenia is my favourite. I think Tommy was overrated, although not as much as Pink Floyd’s The Wall”

“Quadrophenia is indeed fantastic… “

The Real Me (Quadrophenia)

A Hard Days Night – “the original rock movie?”

Gimme Shelter

Purple Rain

The Last Waltz

The Doors

The Commitments

The Touchy Feely:

“If Barb were here, she’d say ‘Almost Famous’ and make everyone watch this clip   Almost Famous – Tiny Dancer (aka “the touchy feely part”)

“I was going to say ‘Almost Famous’ and also show that clip. It’s just such a good scene!”

“I have a soft spot for “School of Rock”.”

“What about Hair. Another of my favourites – but I was a bit of a hippy in my 20s working for Greenpeace. ‘Let The Sunshine In’ makes me teary.”

The Bad Ass:

Sid and Nancy

“Ramones fans?” Rock ‘n’ Roll High School

“You know, we opened for The Ramones once in Ottawa. Just sayin’ .I should have that tattooed on my face”

Rock ‘N’ Roll High School!!!

The Great Rock and Roll Swindle

The Filth and the Fury – Sex Pistols doc;

 “The filth and the fury is a great companion to Swindle – the pistols side of the story which is essentially ranting about how much of an asshole Malcolm McLaren is.”

“Yes, McLaren is so full of hubris he basically personifies it. But – creation and pop culturification of punk as personified by the Sex Pistols and turning that into moneyit’s deservedly on his CV”.

“I did an essay on punk back in high school and it was such a pleasure to include lyrics as examples that included the word fuck.”

“British punkers or West Coast American punk? Who would win in a chain fight?”

The Intellectual Examination Thereof:

Joe Srummer: The Future Is Unwritten; “a fantastic recounting of The Clash’s beginnings, rise and full-on implosion… mega cameos, too.”

“The Decline of Western Civilization Parts 1 and 2 are both interesting to watch once in a while.” “The metal one (don’t know if it’s part 1 or part 2) is really, really great. Dystopic really.”

The Decline of Western Civilization Part 2(The Germs)

“Has anyone seen “It Might Get Loud”, the Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White talking guitars?”

Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey

Slightly Under The Radar:

“Rock and Rule, circa 1983! Canadian animation at it’s best!”

Anvil: The Story of Anvil  - “Toronto based!”

Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park

Phantom Of The Paradise -  “DePalma weirdness. It’s actually quite creepy.”

The Fearless Freaks – Flaming lips

What We Do Is Secret – The Germs biopic

Control – Ian Curtis biopic

24 Hour Party People – Factory Records

Sort of Kind Of Rock Movies:

8 Mile

Madonna: Truth or Dare

Walk Hard – The Dewie Cox Story

The Harder They Come

And Finally….

“Whaddabout fhaken FUBAR!? So maybe it’s not really Rock n’ Roll, but still a great fhaken movie….”

Dean Murdoch: As it stands Plan B is to just keep on Given’r.
Farrel Mitchener: Giving it to her?
Dean Murdoch: No given’r
Farrel Mitchener: Can you maybe explain given’r? What exactly does that mean?
Dean Murdoch: Give’r. You just go out and you give’r. You keep on working hard.
Farrel Mitchener: Is that a plan?
Dean Murdoch: Yeah that’s a plan right there.

Fubar: The Movie

Urp.

PariahMike

Apparently in the bail bond game (not to mention the pest control game, yep, seriously) for at least a few years in the Baltimore area, Bishop Barry released in the middle part of 2009 what is quickly becoming a bit of a meme of the moment now.

The catchy call and response of “Bail Out! Bail Out!” is up there with Tina Fey’s “Dealbreaker” to be sure and, at this juncture, who knows where this could go. Will it gain new, and lasting, life in an SNL or Jamie Fallon skit? Will memographers capture its potent essence and hit us with online tributes thereby guaranteeing it some sort of viral history?  

Whatever the case, it’s damn great at breakthrough and brand awareness, and it’s cheap. As such, it could very well be in position soon to gain access to the pop cultural advertising vaults – right next to the famous BluBlocker rap.

Let the Pitchfork and serious musos scoff but the just released album of original duets between Scarlett Johansson and Peter Yorn (Break Up) already has made this rocker’s heart turn to mush with the excellent little dittie “Relator”.

If this single doesn’t make you want to hum along and envision yourself driving along the PCH top down I just can’t be your friend.

Smile-inducing fo’sho mofo.

This project was, allegedly, something Pete cooked up a while ago along the lines of the Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot duet thing and he just sort of “thought about asking Scarlett to be a part of it”. Yeah, right Pete.

They debuted their single  on Le Grand Journal (Canal +) in France and they look so happy and comfortable with each other on stage already.

As a music geek I also note that the back up band has the guy from Fastball (remember them?) playing drums…I think.

It’s like taking a turn down La Cienega these two and their slick little Los Angeles conjunto and hottie duet schtick.

Love it….for today anyway.

A hot, humid evening in Toronto, in a packed Kool Haus, the fans of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, me included, were primed to rock to one of our favourite female rockers, Karen O.

Although their latest album, It’s Blitz, has some killer tunes, most notably Heads Will Roll and Zero, it was the selection from Fever To Tell and Show Your Bones that really made the show…at least for me!

Tunes like Rich, Y-Control, Pin and Date with the Night littered the set list, along with Gold Lion, Honeybear and Cheated Hearts. And what YYYs show would be complete without their signature love song: Maps. Oh and a personal favourite the raging, chaotic, yet playful Art Star.

Overall, a solid show. …chanted to their powerful lyrics, jolted around by the solid base lines and incredible drums, and watched the dramatic musical interpretations of K.O. I was soaked in sweat! The sign of a really good show.

Tonight should be no different.

And for those heading to Lalapollozza (in a few days), you will get to see the YYYs in fine form. They have been added to the bill as a replacement for the Beastie Boys.

Nike Skateboarding Ad

Starring: Paul Rodriguez

Appearances by: Erick Koston, Kobe Bryant and Ice Cube.